


Caretakers of Jabberwock

by GodOfToast



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Kinda sad?, OC Focused, Other, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-07-15 05:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16056491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GodOfToast/pseuds/GodOfToast
Summary: The Tragedy devastated the entire world, with only small pockets of hope maintained by Future Foundation. Umeko Fujiwara was the Ultimate Astronomer in high school, and after being rescued discovers that a few of her classmates are still alive, maintaining an outpost known as Jabberwock Island.





	1. Chapter 1

The clear blue sky was too dazzling when she reached the deck, and Umeko had to step back inside. It had been a year and a half since she’d last seen a sky that wasn’t clouded over with toxic fumes that tinted the light red. It had been a year and a half since she’d last seen the sun and breathed clean air. It had been half a year since the world collapsed. One of the personnel must’ve seen her falter and mistaken it as because of her injury, because he offered his arm and helped her onto the beach. 

 

Waiting for her was a young woman with light brown hair and suntanned skin, her green eyes filled with tears. She had changed a bit, but there’s no way Umeko wouldn’t recognize the class rep from her time at Hope’s Peak. Waiting on the beach for her on the verge of crying was Maiko Hamasaki, The Ultimate Ballerina. The moment Umeko stepped off the boat Maiko closed the distance in two graceful steps and pulled Umeko into her arms.

 

“I thought you were dead.” She whispered. Although Maiko’s voice didn’t waver, Umeko could feel the tears dampen her shirt. Maiko squeezed tighter, before pulling back and looking her over. “I’m glad you’re not.” She said, and wiped her eyes.

 

“I missed you too.”

 

“It’s not just me though, some of the others are here too. We were planning to throw a party tonight if you feel up to it.” Maiko smiled, though whether it was a happy or sad smile was hard to tell. Perhaps a bit of both.

 

“That.. that sounds good. I want to see them.” She shifted her weight, her good leg was getting tired, but it was hard to put pressure on the bad one. “Who made it?”

 

Maiko’s smile dropped and she pressed her lips into a thin line. “Maybe.. Maybe you should see the doctor first, and then once you’re settled.. I’ll tell you.”

 

Umeko’s heart dropped and she felt a lump in her throat, but she smiled and nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

 

* * *

 

 

The woman who sat at the reception desk of the hospital was nearing her fourties, had golden toned skin, and bleached blond hair that’s roots were beginning to show. Her mouth was set into a stubborn frown, and Umeko got the feeling that was her default expression. The woman looked up as they came through the door, and stood to greet them.

 

“Doctor Almas Fevre, you must be Ms. Fujiwara.” She said, and shook Umeko’s hand. “Sorry, but Future Foundation doesn’t have much in your file, so today’s check up will take a while.”

Behind Almas’ thick rimmed glasses, there were bruise colored bags under her eyes, and there was a listlessness that Umeko had seen surrounding her in the months of the Tragedy. But there was an intensity too, in the grey green eyes, with golden rays shooting out from the pupils. 

 

“Uh.. Yeah, that’s me! Umeko Fujiwara. It’s nice to meet you.” Umeko gave her a smile before realizing that she was wearing a surgical mask, and the Doctor couldn’t see if she was smiling or not. Almas looked sharply at Maiko.

 

“ Combien lui as-tu dit?” She asked.

 

“Pas tant. Je voulais qu'elle s'installe d'abord.” Maiko responded.

 

“Ne lui cachez rien, elle doit le savoir avant ce soir.” Almas turned and went through the door out of the reception area.  “Well, come on then, we don’t have all day.”

 

“Oh, right, okay!” Umeko limped after her. “Sorry!”

 

* * *

  
  


“This is your room!” Maiko said with a dramatic flourish of the hand she could only have gotten from Katsumi. “We did the best we could but we wanted to leave it mostly up to you.” Umeko didn’t even bother to look as she dropped her duffle bag and fell face first onto the bed.

 

“There’s an actual bed.” She said into the mattress.

 

“You’re kinda muffled, I can’t hear you.” Maiko laughed. Umeko continued to lie there, all the exhaustion seeping from her muscles and gluing her to the mattress. But it was only so long before she needed to breathe, and rolled over onto her back.

 

“You didn’t tell me,” She stared up at the ceiling. Someone had put glow in the dark stars up there. She’d need to arrange it into actual constellations later, but it was a nice thought. “Who made it?” The bed groaned and shifted as Maiko took a seat beside her. 

 

“Well.. Katsumi is still alive. So is Madoka and Tsukiko.. But..” Maiko trailed off, her voice soft and Umeko got a sinking feeling again. “Suzume.. She.. before we were rescued. In one of the riots. I’m sorry, I know you were close.” Umeko sat straight up.

 

“Suzu..? She..?” Umeko couldn’t continue, she was cut off by her own wail. Suzume, Tsukiko, and Umeko had always been together, all throughout high school. They’d been inseparable. Suzume tall, with her pale blonde hair and cutsey ghost hair clip that’s she’d bought just to annoy Tsukiko. “She’s gone?”

 

“Yeah.. she is.” Maiko put a hand on Umeko’s shoulder and guided her into a hug. “I’m so sorry.. I know you were close.” For a moment, Umeko let herself soak in her grief and the warmth of her friend, but she pulled away. “Tsuki, how’s she taking it?”

 

“Well..” Maiko kept a comforting hand insistently on Umeko’s shoulder. “As good as someone in her position can take it, I mean.. It’s hard.” She let out a rough sigh. “Death means something different for her, and they were so happy together. It’s hard.” Umeko shook the hand off her shoulder. “Do you want some time alone?”

 

She nodded. 

 

“Okay..” Maiko gave her a weak smile. “The party’s around seven if you feel up to it.” She hesitated another moment before walking to the door. “Bye then.”

 

As soon as Maiko left, Umeko began searching the room. It was a pretty typical resort cottage, with a lovely curtained bed and a few houseplants. Very open with lots of windows, and no dark corners. An investigation of the closet and drawers revealed there to be several clothes picked out for her. All summery and light, and stuff she would like to wear. Almost exactly what she would have picked out for herself two years ago. She picked a lavender sundress out of the closet, and pulled off her mask.

 

She fell back onto the bed, letting the salty ocean air fill her lungs. It came back out in violent coughs that rasped painfully against her throat. She fought for deep gasping breaths through the coughing, and despite the pain, it felt nice. She could finally breathe. And Umeko smiled.

 

She couldn’t stay here forever though. She needed to get up, and do something. She couldn’t just do nothing. So, she got ready. She jumped off the bed, grabbing the lavender sundress and walking towards the bathroom. She stopped herself, this was her room, but it still felt like a stranger’s house. She changed and spun around a few times, admiring how a skirt felt and moved after so long. It wasn’t practical in the slightest and she loved it. She’d missed it so much. She spent fifteen minutes on her hair before she was satisfied, and stepped outside.

 

It was sunny, blindingly sunny, and at mid afternoon the heat hung in the air like a weight. But, the breeze off the ocean was cool and the smell combined with the chlorine from the pool brought back memories. 

 

‘Come to think of it, our school trip was to a resort just like this one.’ The thought made her laugh a bit to herself. Umeko wandered until she found her way to the beach. When she closed her eyes, she could almost pretend she was still a student, back on their class trip that year. Tsukiko refusing to leave the shade from the umbrella, while Suzume tried to surf and drag Tsukiko out, both of which were unsuccessful. Tsubasa pouting because they burned easily, and then getting heatstroke for the rest of the trip, and Katsumi being chased around by Maiko to make him put sunscreen on. Not to mention the incident with Sumire’s swimsuit. Umeko laughed, smiling despite her heart clenching at the thought of her friends. She stayed there, lost in thought until the sun had started to set.

 

“Ume…” A small hand and light voice snapped her out of her reminiscing. She looked up. Black eyes met silvery blue. 

 

“Tsuki.” She bolted up, ignoring the jolt of pain that went through her leg, and pulled her friend into a hug. Tsukiko hugged back.

 

She was always a tiny girl, petite build with black hair and eyes, and ghostly pale skin. But she had changed too. Her long hair had been cut short, and her priestess garb had been replaced by a pale yellow sundress and matching bow.

 

“You don’t look like the girl from the ring anymore.” Umeko said. “Just a haunted doll instead.” Tsukiko looked at her blankly, but there was a spark of joy in her eyes.

 

“I missed you Ume.”

 

“I heard about Suzume.. How are you taking it?”

 

Tsukiko fiddled with her earring, a long dangly silver one with a pentagram and green gem that was probably glass. Umeko recognized it instantly, Suzume had worn the pair every day after all. “As well as I can be. It helps that you’re here now. It’s just.. I can’t even talk to her.”

 

“I can’t imagine how hard that must be.” It was the truth too. To the Ultimate Medium, death meant something different than it did to Umeko. So to lose a loved one and not be able to contact their spirit, she couldn’t imagine what Tsukiko must be going through.

 

“It doesn’t matter, you’re late.” Tsukiko pulled away. “Come on, everyone misses you.”

  
  



	2. Everything's fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The entire cast (for now) appears!

“Umeko!” Katsumi’s smiling face was the first to greet her as she walked through the door. His hair had grown out to shoulder length, and he’d started to wear thick winged eyeliner. It suited him, even if it made his resemblance to Maiko even stronger. They were only cousins, but the only noticeable differences between them was eye color and gender. In contrast to Maiko’s vibrant green, his eyes were a deep burgundy. 

 

Umeko had never really talked to him much at Hope’s Peak, even if she was an Ultimate too, there was something more intimidating about being the Ultimate Actor. He was on TV all the time, and in movies, and all the glamor was just too overwhelming. Not that he was rude or acted superior, but she’d been more than a little starstruck. Even now, his smile was dazzling.

 

“Hey..”

 

“Madoka, hey.” He nudged the boy next to him. “Umeko is here.”

 

“Oh…” Madoka slowly turned his head to Umeko and blinked a couple times. “You’re not dead. Congrats I guess…” he said, before drifting off again. Madoka had always been a bit spacy when it came to things he wasn’t really passionate about, though that sort of hyperfocus on plants was probably why he was the Ultimate Botanist. 

 

Umeko looked around the room at the four others gathered. “Is this everyone?” It was kinda hard to believe, out of her whole class, only five had made it.

 

“Well, we can think about it later, come on Ume, it’s a party! We’ve got champagne, food… I mean we could probably set up a movie?” Katsumi fixed her with another dazzling smile, his voice gentle and accommodating. 

 

“Ah, no, that’s fine..”

 

Umeko mostly just listened as everyone told her what they’d been up to since they arrived on the island. Madoka was researching and experimenting with plant life that would filter pollution from the air, and crops that would take less maintenance to grow food. Katsumi had been raising a flock of chickens that he’d given affectionate, and slightly bizarre names to. Maiko planted a garden to make the island more self sufficient, and lastly, Tsukiko had gotten into herbal medicine, and converted her cottage into a temporary shrine.

 

“Yeah, like a year ago future foundation picked us up, and Madoka kicked all their asses!” Katsumi laughed.

 

“Madoka?” Umeko tried, but she couldn’t imagine it. Tsukiko rolled her eyes.

 

“Not exactly.” Maiko began to explain. “He just.. Convinced them that our best interests were in their best interests.”

Umeko laughed. “Okay… but how?”

 

“Well… Madoka, would you prefer to explain?” Maiko asked, tapping Madoka on the shoulder to get his attention.

 

He startled and looked up. “Hmm? Oh… no.” He shook his head.

 

Maiko smiled gently, a look so utterly graceful and perfect that Umeko’s heart skipped a beat. “Alright.. Well, Madoka convinced them that while our mental and physical states would be better suited to running a research outpost rather than being active members. So long as he keeps them updated on his progress, and sends them results, they’ll mostly leave us alone.” She said.

 

“Welllll… Sometimes they send people to inspect the place, but not a lot.” Katsumi added. “Besides, it’s not so bad to have extra people here for a couple days.”

 

Tsukiko snorted. “You’re just saying that because you have a cr-”

 

“What are we, twelve?” Katsumi rolled his eyes as he cut her off. “Besides, there’s a difference between finding someone aesthetically pleasing and having a genuine interest in them.” He grinned. “Anyways, Ume, let’s go out on the porch okay? It’s a lovely night.” He got to his feet and held out his hand. 

 

“Okay.” Umeko took it and let him lead her outside. The night had fallen, and the sky was a deep velvety blue. The moon was in a waxing gibbous phase, and nearly full, but best of all, were the stars. Free from the light pollution of cities, and the clouds of toxic gas that covered most of the world, there were millions upon millions of stars, casting the island in a silvery light.

 

“Everything’s gonna be alright now Ume.” He smiled at her, the same gentle smile that she’d seen on Maiko’s face. “We can get you a telescope and everything, so you can still do astrology stuff.”

 

She wrinkled her nose. “Astronomy. It’s astronomy Katsumi. Astrology is fortune telling. I actually study stars and their movement. Speaking of,” She pointed to one particularly bright star. “That one’s actually going supernova, it’s dying. We might not even see it tomorrow.”

 

“I really can’t tell the difference.”

 

* * *

  
  


Umeko returned to her room tired and achy. Her injured leg had not appreciated being stood on, and breathing still stung, even with the clean air. She shoved her duffle bag under the bed, and went to sleep.

 

* * *

  
  


“So… you all have your jobs, what do I do?” Umeko asked the next morning. The entire breakfast table fell silent as no one seemed to know how to answer. Madoka, who hadn’t been paying attention, was snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden change in volume. Almas put down the… bowl of coffee? She was drinking.

 

“Fujiwara, you’ll need to stay off your feet and not carry any heavy objects for at least another month.” She sighed. “Besides, there’s not much to do. We have much free time.”

 

“Madoka  _ does _ do his planty stuff all day, and Doc is required to stay in the hospital pretty much 24/7, but the rest of us finish our jobs in like an hour or so.” He smiled at her. “Go swimming or read a book or something, try to relax.”

 

Umeko frowned and pushed the eggs around her plate. They were good, apparently from Katsumi’s chicken coop, but she wasn’t feeling very hungry. It was weird.. The sound of the ocean, the clean fresh air, and only having five people within what must be the next hundred miles. She wondered where everyone else was, when she’d heard that her surviving classmates were on Jabberwock Island, Umeko had agreed to go without a second thought. But… among the seventeen people Future Foundation had rescued, she was the only Ultimate. She clenched her hand into a tight fist around her fork. How could she just leave them like that? For a year and a half she’d been with those people, they looked out for her, and she’d just left them.

 

“Hey, Ume, you good? You got quiet there.” Katsumi was tilting his head at her, his tone light and curious. 

 

She forced a smiled back at him, hoping no one would notice.. “Oh, umm, yes.” she said. Tsukiko took Umeko’s hand and squeezed it, and she felt warmth blossoming in her chest. “Yes.” Her smile softened, and she leaned against her friend’s side. “Maiko? Is there any way to contact Future Foundation?”

 

“Well.. we’re pretty far from any other outpost so the connection isn’t that great, but we do have a contact laptop thing?” She mimed a square with her hands.

 

“So.. a computer with Skype?” Umeko suggested.

 

Maiko looked at Katsumi, and he chuckled. “Yeah basically. A bit more technically than that, but basically the same. We usually just use it for emergencies or to send over Madoka’s research.”

Tsukiko snorted. “Or to try and call your b-”

 

“NO!” Katsumi lurched over the table and clamped his hands over Tsukiko’s mouth. “Hush your face!” Tsukiko just rolled her eyes.

 

“But..” Maiko continued where Katsumi left off. “If you want to contact them you can. There’s no rule we  _ only _ can use it for emergencies.”

 

Katsumi drew his hands back, and grabbed his napkin. “Eww, she licked me.”

 

“Get over it nerd.” Tsukiko said.

 

“Don’t call me nerd, nerd.” Katsumi shot back with a smile. Maiko shook her head, and the more Umeko thought about it, she realized that he was much the same way at Hope’s Peak. Maiko’s regal disappointment, Madoka not paying any attention, and Tsukiko goofing off with Suzu… Umeko cut herself off. Suzume wasn’t here. Katsumi was being playful and friendly, the same way he was in school. She could almost believe that nothing had happened, that they’d booked some tropical vacation together, that was all. She could almost make herself believe that if it weren’t for the way her lungs hurt every time she took a breath.

 

Umeko sighed. She’d have a lot of free time on her hands from now on, might as well find a way to make herself busy.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter! Not much happens, but we finally meet everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> Woo! Don't know if I'll continue this, but every time I sat down to write this is all I could focus on! I hope you love it, and please comment if you can!


End file.
